


Possessive Remus at the Yule Ball (angst)

by simplysirius



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Feels, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Heavy Angst, M/M, One Shot, Pining, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:01:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26803309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplysirius/pseuds/simplysirius
Summary: A weird boy won't leave Sirius alone, and finally, at the Yule Ball Remus decides to take care of things once and for all. From a request based off a TikTok.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 153





	Possessive Remus at the Yule Ball (angst)

Though it was typically only an occasion that preceded the Tri-Wizard Tournament, thanks to a convincing effort made by former Ravenclaw students long since graduated, each winter before the Christmas holidays, Hogwarts hosted the Yule Ball. A dazzling celebration with long dresses and food and dancing, it was the single topic on every student’s mind. James, Sirius, and Remus were no exception.

It was their seventh year and final Yule Ball, and, per tradition, it was up to the female student to ask a boy to accompany them. For James, this came in the form of a Golden Snitch given to him by Lily, engraved with the words Yule Ball? between the delicate wings. Lily had debated how long she was going to make James squirm, waiting to ask him until he was nearly shaking with anticipation. For Sirius and Remus, this proved to be a bit of a problem; who was supposed to ask who? Were they even allowed to go together? Sirius hadn’t dared ask, too afraid of the answer, but he’d be lying if he said it didn’t keep him up at night. 

Remus had missed the Yule Ball last year, forced to listen to the bright music carry down the empty halls and into the hospital wing where he lay bruised and broken after the previous night’s full moon. He forced Sirius away from his bedside, asking him to bring back a plate of cookies, hoping he would stay a little longer and dance the night away with James and Lily. When Sirius eventually made it back to the hospital, stumbling a bit from too much cider, he presented Remus with a half-eaten cookie and fell asleep with his head on Remus’ leg. It remains one of Remus’ favorite memories. This year would be Remus’ first opportunity to go to the Yule Ball with Sirius as a couple, and Sirius was committed to making sure everything went perfectly.

Remus tried to insist that it wasn’t such a big deal. He’d rent a suit from one of the shops in Hogsmeade and ask Lily to help him tame his hair, and they’d have a wonderful night celebrating the waning months of their home at Hogwarts. But Remus realized one day, while James and Sirius were wrestling near the grassy pitch of the Quidditch field, watching Sirius evade James’ every move with quick feet and the grace of a gazelle, that he couldn’t possibly attend the Yule Ball. He couldn’t dance. When he asked Lily for help, she could only shrug her shoulders.

“I just step on James’ feet and he does all the work,” she explained with a sympathetic smile. 

Remus didn’t trust anyone else in the castle to discreetly teach him, so he took to the library, checking out every book detailing the history of dance and movement. Any spare moment where his bedroom was unoccupied, he closed the curtains, darkening the room, and hummed a soft melody. Bracing his hands in the air as if he was holding onto Sirius’ hand and steadying himself on his shoulder, Remus slowly turned through the room, eyes on his feet, keeping the same one, two, three, four pattern that his books outlined. It was choppy and frustrating when Remus kept tripping on his own feet, but he eventually got the hang of it. 

After talking it over with Lily, Remus had the perfect plan to ask Sirius. More than anything, he wanted to be the one who asked; so much so that every time Sirius came bouncing up to him in the days leading up to the Ball, he worried that Sirius was going to beat him to the punch. It was always something unimportant though, and so Remus was spared another day. Remus didn’t even know why he was so nervous to ask – of course, Sirius wouldn’t say no – but every time he worked up the nerve, he fell apart just seconds before blurting the question. He also wondered why Sirius hadn’t asked him yet; did he not want to go together? Was he also chickening out? The only thing that Remus knew was that time was running out. 

With only one day left until the Yule Ball, Remus decided that he would ask Sirius after transfiguration before he and James headed to Quidditch practice. It was Sirius’ favorite class, and he always left beaming with pride after he transformed a hat into a rabbit or something stupid like that; he’d be even happier when Remus asked him to the Ball. 

The whole class, Remus fiddled with his fingers, so clammy he could barely grip his wand tight enough to conjure up an apple onto his desk. Each time he flicked his wand, a pear wobbled in front of him instead. 

“You have to keep steady,” Sirius corrected, placing his hand over Remus’ and tightening his fingers around the wand. Together he moved their hands in the appropriate flicking motion, and with a small pop an apple appeared out of thin air. 

Sirius smiled and retracted his hand, wiping it on his robes. “Take your sweater off Moons, you’re sweaty.”

Remus nodded, not daring to explain why his hands were slick and his stomach was in knots. He revisited the image in his brain that had kept him up all night; sneaking Sirius to one of the secret, dim corridors known only to the Marauders and summoning a thousand fireflies to spell out the words Yule Ball in the air. Sirius’ face would glow in the yellow light and he’d jump into Remus’ arms and that would be that.

When the clock tower tolled, Remus willed his knees to carry his weight as he slid off his stool and made for the door, tailing James and Lily. He expected Sirius to step in stride next to him, as they had done for years, but when he looked to his side, Sirius was still dawdling at the table.

“You coming, Pads?” Remus asked, his voice a little too high and tight. He swallowed back his nerves and cleared his throat.

Sirius’ eyes shifting and he sucked on his lips, an anxious habit that drove Remus crazy. “I’ll meet you at the Quidditch field later. Tell James I might be a second late.” He looked away from Remus, dismissing him. 

Confused as he was, Remus made towards the door with a final glance over his shoulder, catching Professor McGonagall’s perplexed expression settling on Sirius. With his firefly idea effectively extinguished, he had no choice but to dejectedly follow James to the Quidditch field, his shuffled feet leaving scuffs in the grass.

When the door was finally shut, Sirius met McGonagall’s eyes and his face cracked into a nervous, cheeky grin. 

“Is there a problem, Sirius?” McGonagall asked, accustomed to seeing Sirius sit in an empty room, but not without detention pretenses. Naturally, she expected the worst, and realized that the last time she remembered seeing Sirius so jittery was when he had asked her about animagi. She braced herself.

“I have a question…about the Yule Ball,” he announced cautiously, as if he was afraid the walls had ears and they were begging to spill his secrets. When McGonagall nodded for him to continue, he heaved a deep breath. “I know that the girls have to ask the boys and all, but…I mean…Can a boy ask another boy?” Sirius clenched his teeth, trying to stop the nervous chattering.

McGonagall’s eyebrows raised, and her shoulders lowered. This was not the worst case scenario. This was a boy asking permission to love another. It was the best question that had ever been asked in her classroom. McGonagall rounded the desk and perched on the edge, clasping her hands in her lap.

“I believe that is perfectly acceptable,” she nodded. 

Sirius fought off the relieved smile that threatened to overtake his face. He felt lighter then, the hours of lost sleep shaking off his body like a dog after a rainstorm. “Great. Okay. That’s…that’s great.”

“You do realize the Yule Ball is tomorrow?” McGonagall clarified. “It would be wise to ask sooner rather than later.”

Sirius waved her off. “I got it, don’t worry.” He collected his books and stood up, excusing himself to leave. Halfway to the door, he stopped short and craned back around to look at McGonagall. “One of us doesn’t have to wear a dress, right?”

McGonagall blinked, left speechless for a moment at the innocence of a boy she knew to have a certain flair for misbehavior. “If you want to wear a dress, no one is going to stop you…but suits are just fine.”

With a happy nod, Sirius slipped out of the transfiguration classroom with a perk to his step, nearly running down the hall. McGonagall rest her chin on her hand, shaking her head and chuckling to herself. The castle would seem much emptier next year without him.

“You gotta just ask, mate. No fancy shit. Ask him and get it over with; you’re gonna explode sooner or later,” James advised, broom propped over his shoulder. He walked towards the Quidditch field with an easy swagger, hips suggesting he knew he looked good doing it, supercilious smirk on his face confirming it.

Remus shook his head, gripping his book tighter to his chest and burying his face in his scarf to stave off the bitter winter air. “It’s gotta be memorable though. I gotta make up for last year.”

“Sirius doesn’t hold last year against you,” James assured as they reached the tall grandstands. “He just wants to dance with you under the mistletoe. How are those dance lessons going by the way?”

Wide eyed and red cheeked, Remus froze in his tracks. “How did you know about that?”

James grimaced and swung a leg over his broom, kicking off the ground and flying through the air. Remus sighed and climbed the staircase to the nearest grandstand, settling on a bench with a perfect view of the field. He saw Sirius jogging towards the field, disheveled robe fluttering behind him, broom dragging on the ground behind him. He jumped into the air and mounted his broom, catching sight of Remus and smiling.

“Let’s talk after, yeah?” He asked, pressing a quick kiss to Remus’ cheek before joining James near the goal posts. 

“Sure,” Remus said in a daze, but Sirius was already gone. He cracked open his book to his marked page and alternated his glance between watching the Gryffindor team practice and reading more about conjuring spells. 

James was running the team through evasive maneuver drills, testing the chasers’ abilities to avoid bludgers to their heads on their way to score, and it was Sirius’ turn. He smirked, as if the challenge was too easy, and dodged each heavy ball with only inches to spare. Not one to ease up on a friend, James positioned a bludger dangerously close to Sirius’ face, but the nimble boy spun and flipped away just in time, gently tossing the quaffle through the highest ring. Remus clapped loudly, stunned for a second when he realized he wasn’t the only one applauding. 

Across the field in one of the Ravenclaw grandstands, a tall boy with red hair gave Sirius a rousing applause, whistling with two fingers when his hands got sore. Remus narrowed his eyes; he didn’t recognize the boy – definitely not in their year – and he certainly wasn’t sure why he was so excited about a Gryffindor goal. The boy waved furiously at Sirius, begging him to fly over, and to Remus’ horror, Sirius did.

There was no way to hear what the boy was saying, but his hands were moving so much and his eyes were nearly bulging out of his head that Remus decided he looked like a bug. Sirius smiled, that tight, toothy grin that Remus knew meant he was only smiling because he didn’t want to be rude. Every time Sirius pointed back to practice, inching away from the grandstand, Bug Boy encouraged him back in, going so far as to grab the sleeve of Sirius’ robe and hold him steady.

Remus didn’t realize his hand was tightening into a fist until he heard the page of his book crumbling under his fingers. He tried to smooth out the page, and the next time he looked up, Sirius was floating next to James, carefully keeping his back to the Ravenclaw grandstand.

Whenever Sirius did something remotely interesting, Bug Boy was clapping his heart out, and Remus was wondering how much trouble he would be in if he charmed the kid’s hands off. At the end of practice, Sirius flew over to Remus and dismounted his broom.

“Okay, ready to–” Sirius began, suddenly cut off by Remus pressing a bruising kiss to his lips. He chuckled in between breaths, letting Remus lean into his body so heavily he was nearly on top of him. A low whistle blew in front of them, and Remus, thinking it was Bug Boy, whipped his wand out from his pocket and pointed it at the offender.

James smirked down at them, one eyebrow arched. “You’re gonna poke an eye out, Moony.”

“Get out of here, you asshole,” Sirius cackled, turning to Remus as James left. “You’re supposed to wait to kiss me until after I ask you.”

Remus lowered his wand and cocked his head. “Ask me what– Wait.” Remus sat back and pulled Sirius upright. “You can’t.”

Panic seared across Sirius’ face. “What do you mean I can’t?”

“Because I wanted to ask you!” Remus exclaimed, biting his lip when the words tumbled out. Oops. 

Sirius was the first one to break into a belly-aching laugh, wiping his eyes free of the tears that threatened to streak down his face. Remus joined him, head in his hands, face hurting from smiling so wide. 

“I guess,” Sirius gasped, “we could ask together.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I say one word, like do, and then you say, you, and then I say, want–”

“That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Remus lamented, shaking his head. “Can we just ask separately?”

Sirius huffed. “That’s boring. But okay. I get to go first.” He dramatically cleared his throat and sat up straight, shoulders back, nose to the sky. “Remus Lupin. Do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?”

“Yes,” Remus accepted, his heart threatening to burst out of his ribcage. He passed a hand through his hair, slicking back his curls, and batted his eyelashes twice. “Sirius Black. Do you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?”

Sirius shrugged. “I guess so. I mean no one else has asked me.”

Remus shoved Sirius and planted a delicate, soft kiss on his lips. “In my defense, I had a way better plan, but you decided to ruin it with staying after class.” It hadn’t been perfect by any means – and Remus still wished he could have conjured up the fireflies – but somehow their relationship had been defined by perfectly imperfect moments, so it seemed only fitting. 

“Did it involve dancing?” Sirius asked, unable to contain the sly smile that gave away his innocence. 

Remus’ jaw dropped, throwing his hands to the sky and hanging his head. “How the fuck does everyone know about that?” 

Sirius just kissed his cheek sweetly and pointedly ignored the prying eyes watching from across the field.

Each year, the Yule Ball transformed the Great Hall into a frosty winter escape; gone were the warm orange glow of candles and fireplaces, exchanged for towering white evergreens and a charmed ceiling that sprinkled whimsical snowflakes over the wide dance floor. Long buffets of food lined the far wall, and where the professors would normally eat dinner, a group of instrumentalists plucked away at the strings of violins and tapped their fingers against tinny drums. It was the one time of year where Hufflepuffs willingly conversed with Slytherins, where Ravenclaws danced with Gryffindors, and where hostility was left at the door. 

As Head Boy and Head Girl, James and Lily were afforded the first dance. Lily blushed furiously, trying to encourage other students onto the dance floor in an attempt to take the spotlight off of her, but James insisted, tugging her to the center of the room and securing one arm around her waist. He pulled her feet onto his, wincing only once when her heel dug into his toe, and spun them around in time to the lively violin. Her long emerald dress swayed around them, the satin following the rhythm of James’ body. She had pulled her hair back into a crown braid, accenting her lips with a deep red stain, and carried herself with such royal elegance that left James reeling upon first laying eyes on her. He felt underdressed in his well-worn black suit with the stained pocket square, but Lily refused to let him sulk. Instead, she took his handkerchief with the brown splotch and pressed the white cloth to her lips, leaving a brilliant mark on the fabric. James could have married her right then and there.

Sirius and Remus stood on the outskirts of the crowd surrounding the dance floor, not interested in watching Lily and James, as beautiful as they were. Sirius couldn’t stop staring at Remus, and Remus couldn’t stop staring at Sirius, and each time their eyes met, the fire inside their chests only burned brighter. Sirius had borrowed a dark blue suit from one of the stores in Hogsmeade, and it was a little too long in the leg, a little too tight in the torso, but with his black, shining hair flouncing around his shoulders, he was the image of a god in Remus’ honey-dipped eyes. Remus’ suit fit him perfectly, something he was going to have to thank his mother for later, and the deep maroon fabric was just subtle enough to make Remus stand out in the crowd, accentuated by his sandy curls. He had asked Lily to lend him some makeup to cover his scars, especially concerned with a recent gash over the bridge of his nose, but Sirius refused, pressing kiss after feather-light kiss to the scar until Remus forgot all about it.

When Lily and James were done dancing, the floor was opened to the rest of the students, but Sirius was more interested in eating. He hadn’t eaten anything but breakfast that day, too afraid that his already too-tight suit really wouldn’t fit if he gorged on his usual lunch menu of three sandwiches and a buttered biscuit. The foursome filled their dinner plates high with stuffing and minced pies and potatoes and cookies, finding an empty table and chowing down. Remus could hardly feel his stomach afterwards, and wondered if that would be a good enough excuse to get him out of dancing. Even with his self-taught lessons, he was shaky at best and was sure to be the laughing stock of the school.

“Come dance,” Sirius said, standing up and pulling Remus’ arm. Remus grimaced, not budging, even when James stood and took Lily’s hand. “C’mon!”

Remus shook his head. “You’re supposed to wait like an hour after you eat before any strenuous exercise.” On Sirius’ cocked head, he added, “I read it in a book.”

“Fine. I’m getting another cookie,” Sirius announced, dropping Remus’ hand and making for the buffet. 

“You just had a cookie.”

“Your point?” Sirius asked, smiling mischievously and disappearing into the crowd.

“I can’t believe you chickened out on asking him,” Lily cried, jabbing Remus in the ribs. “We spent weeks planning out those fireflies!”

Remus held up his hands in surrender. “It’s not my fault! He was the one who stayed late to talk to McGonagall!” He sipped at his cider, which James had spiced up with a tap of his want to the rim of the glass. Not exactly Head Boy material. Definitely best friend material. “What did he even talk to her about anyway?”

Lily and James shrugged in unison, a little too quickly for Remus to believe them. He narrowed his eyes, and to avoid further prosecution, Lily turned to look literally anywhere else.

“Uh, Sirius doesn’t look too happy over there,” she observed, leaning up on the tips of her toes to see over the crowd of dancing students. 

“Hey Moons, isn’t that the same guy that wouldn’t leave him alone yesterday? The Ravenclaw kid?” James asked. Remus followed his glance across the room, where Sirius was standing at the buffet table, foot tapping anxiously as he was trapped in a conversation with none other than Bug Boy. 

He had cornered Sirius into the buffet table, hands moving spastically around him again, and was clearly not understanding that the pucker of Sirius’ mouth meant that he wasn’t interested. By the perk of his hips and the long batting eyelashes, Bug Boy was very interested. When he reached out and brushed Sirius’ arm, Remus rubbed his lips together and nodded.

Remus took a long sip of his cider, the bitter taste of the smuggled alcohol coating his throat, and smiled at James and Lily. “Excuse me a minute.”

“Oh, this will be good,” James sneered, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. He wondered briefly if he should keep his wand at the ready in case Remus got carried away, but the prospect of seeing Remus throw some kid on the ground in a jealous rage was too good to pass up. Beside him, Lily craned her head trying to see, wondering if Bug Boy was about to lose any of those fingers he liked to throw around so much.

Remus made his way through the crowd, politely shoving his way through dancing bodies and oblivious students. James wasn’t the only one who had smuggled in illicit drinks. Sirius saw him coming before Bug Boy did, and his face flashed equal parts relief and amusement. Reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket, Remus grasped his wand and concealed it inside his sleeve. 

“So my foot is totally stuck there, right, I’m freaking out, the dog’s having a seizure, and I still have half a pie left!” Bug Boy exclaimed, breaking off into a cackling laugh that sounded more like a choking cat. The corners of Sirius’ mouth lifted upwards, but not for the reason Bug Boy expected.

Remus cut between them, sliding an arm around Sirius shoulder gazing down at him with a sickly sweet smile. “Did you get lost, baby?”

Gulping down what little air his lungs offered at the word baby – it was a word they used only when gasping under the bedsheets – Sirius nodded. “I was just having a chat with my friend Charlie here.”

Remus thought that Bug Boy was a better name, but Charlie beamed at him, as undeterred as ever. 

“Nice to meet you,” Charlie bubbled before turning back to Sirius. “So I was thinking that maybe we could–”

“Charlie?” Remus interrupted, letting his wand slip into his hand just inches away from Charlie’s nose. The boy looked down the shaft of the wand, nearly crossing his eyes, and gulped. “Don’t touch my boyfriend. Don’t talk to my boyfriend. Don’t look at my boyfriend. Understand?”

Charlie nodded emphatically, eyes still on the tip of Remus’ wand. 

Remus pointed his wand towards the cookie in Sirius’ hand and with a swift flick, the cookie transformed into an apple. He tossed it at Charlie, who caught it with slippery hands. 

“Here. Practice on that,” Remus smiled, puckering his lips and blowing him a kiss before he whisked Sirius away. “Let’s dance.”

Sirius didn’t make it five steps before bursting out into a fit of laughter, hanging onto Remus’ neck to keep from buckling to his knees. A crimson flush creeping over Remus’ face, he rolled his eyes and put one hand on Sirius’ waist, the other on his shoulder, just like he practiced, and awkwardly swayed to the music.

“What was that?” Sirius chuckled, finally able to speak.

“That,” Remus said, “was some dickhead who couldn’t take a hint trying to get in your pants.”

Sirius nodded and reached up to kiss Remus. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”

“I’m not jealous,” Remus disagreed, knowing full well that the knot twisting around his heart was braided in envy. Sirius made a suspicious sound that said otherwise, but remained quiet, preferring to rest his head against Remus’ chest and listen to the slow beat of his heart.

Around them, students danced wildly to the upbeat music, shaking their hair out and flailing their limbs. Sirius and Remus danced to their own rhythm, slowly revolving around the dance floor, as if the violin crooned a soft, wistful melody. 

“Your dance lessons paid off,” Sirius mumbled against Remus’ neck, earning a gentle smile. “Next time, you should make sure no one is in the bathroom before you start practicing.”

“I hate you,” Remus said softly, confident that he had never loved Sirius more that he did in that moment.


End file.
